Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-11-04
THE DOOMED MEN.
PREPARATIONS FOB THE FATAL EVEN I
IN CHICAGO.
The Condemned Anarchists Awaiting Their
Fats-Eo Probability Of Their Com
hitting Suicide.
by telegraph 70 the Dispatch

this afternoon working on the pieces
which go to make up the machine Of
death, and it will not be long before the
gallows will be ready. This is regarded
in some quarters MS significant of Mat
: sons belief that the Governor will not
interfere.
The even at the county Jail this
morning was conference OF nearly an
hour between Captain Black, l.. 5. Oil
yer, and the seven doomed Anarchists.
Captain Black refused to make public
tue matter under discussion. He said
that he expected to leave for Springfield
with a petition for amnesty Monday
night. 10 an inquiry whether he hoped
for clemency he replied " 1 am always
a hopeful man. Will hope until there
is no longer any ground for it and when
there can only be grief for seven men
murdered by law"
" There has been n good deal OF talk
about the possibility of suicide by these
men; what do you think Of it ?" was
asked.
They couldn't be hired to take their
own lives; not a man OF them would do
so, not one. II they wished to do 50
nothing would be easier; but / tell
you il their cells were filled with
deadly weapons and they had poisons
moro dreamy and subtle than lcthe they
would scorn to use them They are not
common scoundrels. who would try 70
cheat the gallows. There is no ignominy
in the scailold for them. If they must
die they would prefer to be straDgled 10y
the organized robbery they sought to
overthrow than to stink ont OF the world
like towards
IHReE or The ANARCHISTS WEAKEN.
August Spies, Samuel Fielden, and
Nicholas Schwab signed a petition this
afternoon humbly begging the Governor
to commute their sentences. These
three OF the seven condemned men are
the only ones who have not written let
tiers to the Governor that they would not
accept Communication Of their sentences,
and that all efforts in that direction were
without their sanction. The signatures
Of Fieldeu and Schwab were secured
this morning by Captain Black and L.
W. Oliver, who visited the prisoners at
the jill and had private conferences with
them. All sorts Of entrcaties were
adopted to get Spies TO sign the petition,
but he rCsoutcly refused to do SO, as did
also Lingg, Engcl, Fisher, and Parsons
At $50 p. NJ the same petitions were
brought 10 the jail by DR. Schmidt, Al
derman Frank Stluber, and II. Limo
meyer with permission from the sheriff
D., ttsffh g.
George Schilling arrived later and
joined the party 1t was plain that
Spies had weakened since the morning
conference He read the petition over
several time. After an hours pleading
Spies said "WclI. give me the pen,
and with flourish his name was APP
pended TO the petition. The visitors
then turned their attention to the others
who have written letters declining exec
utiye clcmency, but Obtained 10 further
signatures.
THE "ARBEuUE zEITUNG's ~ COMMENT. /
The 1r5ciUr /cjhnq. organ Of the
Anarchists, to day has Il long editorial
on the action of the Supreme Court, IN
which it says: "The request of our eight
comrades for O writ Of error has been re.
fused by the Federal Supreme Court .
For hundred years the United States
enlOyCd the reputation of being Il free /
country, and up to a short time ago such 1
a reputation was certainly most justitia- /
bic. But lately few possessers OF
colossal riches produced by the
common people usurped the criminal
power to pcrvert and msinterpret the !
laws created by the fathers Of this
republic in good faith aud progressive |
spirit They splatter with mud the
name Of The republic. The Supreme |
Court at Washington, the German !
Imperial Court at Leipsig, and the
Martial Courts at St Petersburg stand
on the same level. The justice which is /
being distributed under the auspices Of
Jay Gould, Vanderbilt, Il al, wears
not only bandage over his eyes, but
also watchword on his breast which
reads The public be ID. ."
The article quotes from Ben. Buffers
speech where he said that every one Of
the jurors was preJudiced against the
Anarchists. Ii accuses the judges Of
having been led merely by the desire OF
setting q horrible example to the work
ing classes to keep them easier in sub
mission. 1t warns the judges that % he
who sOWs tho wind must reap the whirl-
wind" and closet: Heretofore the
working people believed in the existence
OF justice and equality in this country.
The cruelties of their enemies viii
open their eyes. Our comrades
will seal with their blood the truth
that liberty and justice can hardly
raise their heads in this country.
However dear to us may be the life Of
our comrades, we must give them up
cOnsOled by the hope that this human
sacrifice will hasten the day when the
masses will learn to understand how they
were being foolcI and what a humbug
has been made of justice"
MRS. PARSONS CREATES AN EXCITEMENT.
About noon to-day Mrs Lucy Parsons,
wife of the condemned Anarchist, de-
scended the stairs leading to Spauldings
Office, on Clark street and be-
gan to sell pamphlets entitled "Was 1t
a Fair Trial?' She had her arms full
of the documents, and was selling them
for five cents apiece. No attempt at
speech-mAking was made, but the unac-
customed spectacle OF woman selling
Anarchistic pamphlets attracted a con
siderable crowd. 1t was some time
before it was known that the
mysterious vender was Mrs. Par.
sons, and in trice tho street was
packed with curious spectators. So
dense was the congregation that it was
for wagon even to make its
way along the middle Of the street, and
in five minutes after the announcement
Of the woman's name it was be-
yond all human possibility for pc
1estrian TO come within one hun
1red yards Of the spot where Mrs.
Parsons stood. Passage on either side
Of the street was out of the question
till three officers ordered the woman to
'move on" She did move on in the
direction of the Government building,
carrying her pamphlets and followed by
IN immense throng. 1t was estimated
that five thousand people were assembled .
around the nlara In vain the car-drivers